Saints Place Keenan Lewis On IR
A difficult defensive season for the Saints worsened on Thanksgiving Day, when they placed top cornerback Keenan Lewis on season-ending injured reserve, Evan Woodberry of NOLA.com reports.
Lewis’ injury-riddled season endured its final blow against Washington two weeks ago after suffering a knee injury.
The Saints signed Chris Owens to fill Lewis’ spot, and the veteran cornerback practiced with the team Thursday, Woodberry reports.
The veteran cornerback missed four games this season and underwent a sports hernia operation, which limited Lewis to participation in just six contests this season and only one start. He only played 106 snaps in New Orleans this year.
This came as a stark contrast for the 29-year-old Lewis, who functioned as the Saints’ top corner the past two seasons after signing as a free agent in 2013.
Lewis, who started 32 games the past two years and snared six interceptions, missed time this offseason with the Saints before the team reworked his contract to add additional guaranteed money. The 2016 portion of Lewis’ contract features a now-fully guaranteed $2.7MM base salary and a $6.3MM cap figure. Lewis is under contract with New Orleans until the 2017 season.
The 29-year-old Owens most recently played with the Chiefs in 2014 after serving as a Falcons cog from 2009-12.
Colts Claim Boom Herron On Waivers
Boom Herron will return to Indianapolis after his former team claimed him on waivers following his departure from Buffalo, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter).
The Colts cut running back Zurlon Tipton in a corresponding move. Herron emerged on waivers Wednesday after the Bills cut him following a four-game stint.
Herron served as the Colts’ passing-down back last season following Ahmad Bradshaw‘s season-ending injury. Now, he’ll team with a healthy Bradshaw to give the team more experience behind Frank Gore, who left Sunday’s game with an injury but returned to practice today.
A fourth-year former sixth-round pick of the Bengals’, Herron carried the ball 11 times for 37 yards for the Bills and caught three passes for 20 yards. He resided as a deep backup in Buffalo, however, behind LeSean McCoy, Karlos Williams and Anthony Dixon.
The 26-year-old Herron totaled 524 yards from scrimmage on 99 touches last season, one that featured a key role for him once Bradshaw went down. He made significant postseason contributions, however, starting all three of the Colts’ games, scoring twice and gaining 298 yards from scrimmage.
With Bradshaw now active again after being re-signed midway through this season, Herron’s workload doesn’t figure to be substantial in his second stay in Indianapolis.
The 25-year-old Tipton played in 13 games for the Colts the past two seasons, filling in mostly on special teams. A former undrafted free agent, only has 12 career carries on his resume.
Patriots Send Aaron Dobson To IR
Prior to probably their offense’s most difficult assignment this season, the Patriots will enter Sunday’s tilt in Denver without another wide receiver.
The Pats placed Aaron Dobson on injured reserve with an ankle injury and brought up safety Dewey McDonald from their practice squad, Field Yates of ESPN.com reports (as relayed by ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss, on Twitter).
Dobson sustained a high ankle sprain on a 17-yard catch during the second quarter of New England’s 20-13 win against Buffalo on Monday night, joining Danny Amendola among Patriots receivers who couldn’t finish their Week 11 game.
Although Dobson, a second-round pick in 2013, hasn’t lived up to expectations, this injury continues a series of setbacks for the Pats’ wide-receiving corps. Julian Edelman‘s out for likely the remainder of the regular season, and Amendola (knee) won’t be at 100 percent if he plays against the Broncos.
Dobson started three games this season and finished with 13 receptions for 141 yards. The Marshall product hasn’t scored a touchdown since finding the end zone four times during his rookie campaign.
The Patriots’ practice squad is devoid of any wideouts. Keshawn Martin was inactive for Monday’s game and remains limited by a hamstring injury, leaving Brandon LaFell and Chris Harper as the team’s healthy receivers.
McDonald worked out for multiple teams, including the Dolphins and Chiefs, before the Patriots signed him to their practice squad less than two weeks ago. The second-year UDFA’s played in 14 games thus far in his career, including two this season with the Colts and Patriots, respectively.
Eagles Notes: Kelly, Murray, Rowe
Well, this hasn’t been the best Thanksgiving for the Eagles. As they wrap up their worst performance of the year against the Lions, let’s take a look at some items out of Philly:
- An anonymous agent for a starting Eagles player told Matt Lombardo of NJ.com that Chip Kelly has lost the loyalty of his players. “Chip Kelly has lost the team,” said the agent, who requested anonymity because of fear of retribution against his client. “Between the losses and his bull[bleep] methods that aren’t working, I can tell you that the players have tuned him out.” The agent also raised the possibility that at least one player was using an injury to stay off the field, because “he won’t play hurt for Chip.”
- That agent wasn’t the only anonymous voice to speak out against the Eagles. Recently, running back DeMarco Murray raised questions when he slid for a first down rather than powering his way further down the field. One player took exception. “Well, when you see DeMarco sliding before getting hit, you tell me – was that giving full effort?” an anonymous Eagle told Bob Brookover of The Inquirer. “You see that [stuff] and it makes you wonder.”
- With cornerback Nolan Carroll in the final year of his contract, Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes that the Eagles will have to get Eric Rowe up to speed quickly if he is to take over as a primary starter next year. Of course, Rowe didn’t have his best day on Thursday thanks to his matchup with Calvin Johnson.
Cardinals Sign Red Bryant, Place LaMarr Woodley On IR
The Cardinals are placing LaMarr Woodley on IR with a chest injury, as Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com writes. To fill the gap, the Cards will sign defensive tackle Red Bryant.
Last season was something of a lost year for Woodley, who spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Steelers. After playing strictly as an outside linebacker in Pittsburgh’s 3-4 scheme, Woodley moved to defensive end in Oakland’s 4-3 look, and didn’t adjust particularly well, ranking 44th out of 59 qualified 4-3 DEs per Pro Football Focus. The Michigan alum played in just six games before tearing his biceps and missing the remainder of the season.
Woodley is no stranger to the disabled list as he missed a total of 14 games from 2011-2013 but still amassed 18 sacks during that span. The three years prior to that were Woodley’s absolute best as he recorded 34.5 sacks and established himself as one of the most nightmare-inducing players for NFL quarterbacks. This year, Woodley appeared in 10 games (7 starts) and totaled just 10 tackles with 1 sack. Woodley’s one-year, minimum deal lapses following the 2015 season and it remains to be seen whether the 31-year-old will stay with Arizona, sign elsewhere, or perhaps even consider retirement given his string of injuries in recent years.
Bryant saw time in all 16 games in his first and only season for the Jaguars in 2014. In total, he racked up 23 tackles to go with one pass deflection and one sack. The 31-year-old graded out as a slightly below-average contributor, according to Pro Football Focus‘ metrics, coming in with a -1.6 grade. Overall, that placed him 31st out of 59 qualified 4-3 defensive ends. Before his season in Jacksonville, Bryant spent six years with the Seahawks, starting all but one regular-season contest for the team from 2011 to 2013. This year, Bryant was set to suit up for the Bills, but he was cut loose in early September.
Falcons To Sign Shayne Graham, Cut Joplo Bartu
9:50am: To make room for Graham, the Falcons will cut linebacker Joplo Bartu, as D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.
Bartu, a former starter, has only made one start in 2015 and appeared in six games total. Between 2013 and 2014, Bartu appeared in all 32 regular season contests with 27 starts. In total, Bartu notched 167 tackles and 4.5 sacks during that span. This year, he has recorded just eleven tackles.
9:36am: The Falcons are planning to sign former Saints and Bengals kicker Shayne Graham, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Graham will give Atlanta an extra leg Matt Bryant nurses a quad injury.
Graham is a 15-year NFL veteran who first joined New Orleans as a UDFA in 2000. The 37-year-old (38 in December), who has played for nine clubs in total, ranks seventh in NFL record books in field goal accuracy (85.5%), having nailed 266-of-311 career attempts. Overall, in 173 games, he has scored 1,219 points, tied for 35th in NFL history. Last year, Graham connected on 19-of-22 field goal attempts and finished as the club’s leading scorer with 103 points.
Saints DC Dennis Allen On Rob Ryan, New Job
Roughly two weeks ago, New Orleans opted to move on from the well-respected Rob Ryan and turn things over to ex-Raiders head coach Dennis Allen, whom many felt was the team’s DC-in-waiting all along. While the Saints’ defense was solid in Ryan’s first year with the team, the unit struggled last year, ranking 31st overall in DVOA, according to Football Outsiders, including dead last against the run. This year, the New Orleans defense was dead last in DVOA through ten weeks under Ryan and his gorgeous grey locks.
This week, Allen chatted with local media for the first time since taking over the position. Here’s a look at some of the highlights, courtesy of Christopher Dabe of The Times-Picayune.
On his overall reaction to being the new defensive coordinator in New Orleans:
Obviously, it is a difficult situation to be in, really for everybody that is involved. Obviously, I have strong feelings for Rob Ryan and the type of individual he is. I know that it is tough when you have a situation like this because families are involved. I think we all understand the business. I went through the same thing last year. It is part of this business and part of what we have to deal with, but we have to move forward. I am looking forward to the opportunity and I am excited about getting a chance to hopefully improve this defense.
On whether he expected to eventually become the Saints’ DC after joining the staff:
No, not really. It wasn’t anything that was thought about or discussed. Obviously, Sean (Payton) wanted me to come in here and I wanted to come back and be a part of it. I wanted to try to help get the defense better. All of us, players, coaches, everybody – we all have our autograph on where we are at right now as a football team, and specifically as a defense. We have gotten to work to try to change that image and that picture. I have been pleased by what the guys have done so far. We’re working hard this week and worked hard over the bye week to try to get some things corrected. Hopefully, it’ll show on Sunday.
On whether there was ever any confusion within the players of who was in charge of the defense between him and Ryan:
You’d have to ask the players that. I don’t have the answer to that question. I don’t think that was the case. I think I tried to make it as clear as possible that Rob was in charge, and Rob was in charge.
On whether he’ll be more aggressive than his predecessor:
I think we’ll play the game how we feel the game plays out. I am sure there’ll be some situations in a game that’ll call for some aggressive calls, and they’ll be some situations in a game that’ll call for a little bit more coverage or a little bit more relaxed.
NFC East Notes: Kelly, Eagles, Hardy
This probably isn’t how LaRon Landry figured things would wind up when Washington took him with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. Earlier this week, the NFL suspended Landry indefinitely for what appears to be a third violation of the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
The former sixth overall pick has played in 103 career games with 97 starts over the course of eight seasons. In 2012 while with the Jets, Landry made his first (and, to date, only) Pro Bowl. Now, it’s not clear when or if Landry will play again. Here’s more from the NFC East:
- ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter recently appeared on SiriusXM and opined that Chip Kelly’s days as the Eagles‘ head coach may be numbered. Some listeners took that to be fact rather than opinion, and Schefter took exception to that. “I was completely taken aback by the way that was portrayed,” Schefter told 97.5 The Fanatic (via Rob Tornoe of Philly.com). “I never said his days in Philadelphia are numbered. I never said he’s out after this year..I think there’s a question as to whether or not Chip will be back next year. Is that an unfair statement? That’s my belief talking to various people, and we’ll see how it plays out.”
- Multiple sources within the Cowboys organization tell Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link) consider Thursday night’s contest against the Panthers to be a big test for Greg Hardy. Hardy has had trouble keeping his emotions in check on the field and Dallas has some concern about how he’ll handle himself against his former team. How Hardy handles himself in this game and for the remainder of the season will affect how the Cowboys approach contract talks to keep the defensive end beyond 2015.
- Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins told reporters that he hasn’t spend “one second” thinking about his contract situation (video via CSNWashington.com). We learned earlier this week that Washington has had preliminary contract talks the QB. However, there is no real reason for Cousins to sign an extension anytime soon, as the rewards for not doing so outweigh the risks.
Minor NFL Transactions: 11/25/15
The Ravens will activate defensive end Brent Urban off of the IR-DTR list, as Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com tweets. It still hasn’t been determined whether he will play against the Browns on Monday, however. Urban, 24, was selected in the fourth round of the 2014 draft by the Ravens, but missed his entire rookie campaign with a torn ACL. The Virginia product sustained a torn bicep this year, but Baltimore liked him enough to use its only IR-DTR slot on him back in September.
Here are the rest of Wednesday’s minor signings, cuts, and other moves from around the NFL:
- The Saints are set to sign cornerback Chris Owens to the 53-man roster, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Owens, who turns 29 on Tuesday, played in 11 games for the Chiefs last season.
- The Raiders will promote wide receiver/return man Jeremy Ross from the practice squad to the active roster, a source tells Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com (on Twitter).
- The Panthers have signed long snapper Danny Aiken, as Jonathan Jones of the Charlotte Observer tweets. Aiken will give Carolina an option as they wait to learn more about J.J. Jansen‘s availability.
NFC West Notes: Bailey, Tomsula, Kaepernick
Here’s a look at the NFC West: